Julie Mack / Kalamazoo GazetteA yard sign across the street from Parchment Middle School is in reference to the April 4 arrest of assistant principal John Thompson, who was arrested on a drunken driving charge after an evening out with Superintendent Matt Miller.

The petition stems from parents disturbed by the way in which the board, comprised by President Dale Pominville, Vice President Nancy Lenz, Secretary Deb Coates, Treasurer Rhonda Newman and Trustees Tim Lasher, Joel Shaffer and Rob Thayer, handled an administrator involved in a high-profile drunken-driving case.

“This is not a hearing on a debate if people should be recalled or if any allegations are true or false, it’s merely for us to look at the petition and determine if the language is clear and can be understood by the average person,” Gorsalitz said.

Recall organizers need to gather an estimated 750 signatures in a 90-day period for each board member targeted for recall. About 600 people cast ballots in the May 2011 school election, when Lasher and Lenz ran unopposed for re-election.

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“We’re going to do the best we can, and in the last election (fewer people than what the group needs for the petition) cast ballots,” Wagner said. “But we’re trying to fix the scene and improve the situation.”

The proposed language for the petitions says the trustees "neglected" their duty to "manage the Superintendent to the harm of parents and students."

It notes that John Thompson, Parchment Middle School assistant principal and the Parchment High School athletic director, was arrested April 4 on charges including driving while intoxicated.

"Following his arrest, the Superintendent kept Thompson in his job working directly with students from April 9th until April 23rd. The Board did not notify parents or the community of the incident at that time, and failed to incite the Superintendent to quickly remove Thompson from student interaction," says the proposed petitions.

The commission asked Wagner to change the word “incite” to “instruct” or “compel.”

Thompson was arrested after leading a Richland police officer on a five-mile car chase down Gull Road that reached speeds of up to 120 mph, according to the police report. It said that when Thompson was taken into custody, an open bottle of vodka was found in his car and his blood-alcohol content tested at 0.25, three times the legal limit.

Thompson is facing one count each of fourth-degree fleeing and eluding police felony -- punishable up to two years in prison -- operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, operating a motor vehicle with a high blood-alcohol content and having an open intoxicant inside of a vehicle.

Thompson was allowed to return to his job April 9. On April 23, the day that a judge signed a warrant authorizing the criminal charges, the district put Thompson on paid leave.

Later that week, the Richland Police Department provided the media with a copy of their police report and a video of the chase, and Parchment Superintendent Matt Miller changed Thompson's status to unpaid leave. He said the reason was that he and the board had obtained more details about the events surrounding Thompson's arrest.

“The deeper I dig into this, the more disturbing the story and the more people I talk to, the more questions I have about the board members and the superintendent,” said Dan Miller, who attended the hearing on Thursday and has two children in the district.